


Black Flag

by reddielosers



Category: IT (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Punk Eddie AU, flirty gays, punk!eddie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-05-28 21:26:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15058136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reddielosers/pseuds/reddielosers
Summary: Richie Tozier is a struggling comedian in Portland, Maine. He walks into his usual venue to find that a punk band is playing. Richie witnesses the firecracker of a frontman that is Eddie Kaspbrak and a wild night for both of them ensues.





	Black Flag

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I know I haven't updated either of my other fics in a little while, and I totally thought I was just going to take a short haitus, but this idea wouldn't stop bouncing around my brain and I just word vomitted!
> 
> This is super self indulgent and I hope some of you out there actually like it :-)
> 
> \- Chloe <3

Richie Tozier was standing in a long line outside of a brick building called The Wack Job. He worked here multiple nights a week doing his stand up routine. No, he wasn’t doing it full time. And no, it didn’t pay well. 

While he considered his Voices to be a one-of-a-kind act, it wasn’t getting as much attention as he anticipated. He had been working on his routine since he was literally ten years old, so when he started performing and he didn’t have people flocking, he was surprised. He knew that most genius went overlooked and that is precisely what he always told himself just to keep his head up.

The line began to move as people started piling into the small venue. Richie’s interest was definitely peaked, he never saw a crowd this large when he was here throughout the week. He decided he might stay back at the bar for a little while, after he picked up his paycheck from the owner, of course.

He finally walked up the bouncer, who immediately recognized him and let him slip in unnoticed. The venue was darker than usual, the main lights turned off in favor of blue and purple christmas lights that were streamed across the entire ceiling. The stage that was usually empty had a large drum set and guitar pedals propped up. The room was smokey with the smell of cigarettes, and Richie didn’t know that they were allowed to smoke in there. He was pretty sure they weren’t.

After poking his head into the main office and grabbing the envelope that held his small paycheck, he walked back downstairs and found a seat in the middle of the bar counter. Bill Denbrough walked up to him, his self-proclaimed number one fan. He was the loudest laugh at each of his shows and just seeing his face made Richie wear a huge grin. 

“Big Bill, my main squeeze! How you doin, lemon drop?” Richie shouts over the loud crowd and music playing over the speakers.

“Hey, Rich! What are you doing here on a Friday night? Don’t you work?” Bill asked, popping open a beer and sliding it over to Richie’s waiting hand. 

“I did, yeah. My pizza joint closes at ten, so I thought I’d just slip in and pick up a few things.” He took a little sip out of the bottle. “What the hell is going on tonight?” Richie gestured to the crowd.

The small room was filled to the brim with black clothes adorned with band patches and large spikes. There were a few people whose hair stood at least a foot tall, mohawks and liberty spikes stiff and protruding from their heads. The only colors that flooded the crowd of black were the neon hair of the patrons. 

Richie felt as though he stuck out like a sore thumb. He had changed out of his Domino’s uniform, thankfully, but he was just wearing a pair of levi’s and a white t-shirt tucked beneath a red and yellow Hawaiian button-up. His favorite. It was loud, eye-catching, and funny, just like him, but for some reason it was making him feel a little… Self conscious. To top it all off he had taken out his contacts that day and wore his coke-bottle black glasses. They made his eyes large and magnified. It was as if he was wearing a red target on his forehead and a sign on his chest that just screamed “Beat me up, I’m a huge nerd!” 

He tried to stuff down his high school sensibility and insecurity, but he was failing. Instead, he took another swing of his beer. 

“Oh, a band from Portland is here tonight. They’re called The Losers. Super popular with the kids, apparently.” Bill joked. Everyone else in the building seemed to be their own age. Bill acted just like an old man, Richie mused, he seemed to like things quiet. 

Just as Richie opened his mouth to reply, the decently sized crowd began cheering and clapping lightly. Richie turned away from Bill towards the stage and was immediately captivated. 

Three people walked out onto the stage, one by one. The first was the drummer. He was an incredibly tall and large black man, his skin contrasted beautifully by his white t-shirt and the blue christmas lights. He wore black shorts and a black bandana around his head, and he already seemed to be completely pumped and excited. He sat down behind the drum set and jiggled his legs up and down in anticipation. He wore a large grin as his eyes danced around the crowd. He gave a little wave with his drumsticks.

The second person was a much smaller woman. Her hair was fire-truck red and long. It nearly reached her hips as it swayed when she pulled up the bass guitar and swung the strap over her shoulder. She adorned heavy black eyeliner and red lipstick. She wore a short black skirt, it barely covered her ass, and a yellow t-shirt that simply stated ‘GIRLS INVENTED PUNK ROCK’.

But what really caught Richie’s eye was the even smaller male frontman. The man was muscular and already shiny from a thin layer of sweat. He was wide eyed with a serious expression on his face. He had multiple piercings on his ears, as well as a large septum in his nose. His hair was a dark brown and nearly down to his shoulders and it curled out across his clammy forehead. He also wore dark eyeliner and a matching t-shirt to the bass player’s, but it was cut into a muscle-t. He wore extremely tight black jeans and they looked shredded and torn from over-wear. Richie found himself completely entranced as the smaller man reached down and picked up his guitar. 

He walked up the microphone, then, and his stoney expression remained as he acknowledged the crowd. He was looking up at everyone through his eyelashes, his head slightly turned down as he spoke. 

“Hello, everyone. We’re The Losers. My name’s Eddie.” He poked his forehead, pointing to himself. “And this is Bev and Mike. Say hi, Bev and Mike.” The other two smiled and waved excitedly. Richie heard them yell a faint ‘Hello!’

With introductions out of the way, they all immediately began to play. It was unlike anything Richie had heard before. The drums were incredibly hard and fast, and the speed that which Mike moved shocked Richie in his seat. The sound of the drums were incessantly rapid and he could see now why Mike was so antsy to start playing. He was incredible. Bev had her face scrunched up cutely, focus and concentration evident on her face as she plucked and strummed at her bass with precision. 

Eddie, though, was definitely stealing the show. He was thrusting quickly into his guitar, playing a repetitive chord over and over again as he began to sing. His eyes were somehow even wider than they were before, his teeth bared and intimidating while he sang- or rather, yelled- into the microphone.

 

_ I’m about to have a Nervous Breakdown, _

_ My head really hurts, _

_ If I don’t find a way out of here, _

_ I’m going to go berserk cause- _

 

Richie honestly thought that Eddie looked as though he was being possessed by some sort of demon. It was as if the music itself had taken over the small man and he flung and contorted his body as he sang passionately into the mic. He was red in the face and the passion that he exuded was compelling and addicting. Richie couldn’t look away. 

 

_ I’m crazy and I’m hurt! _

_ The head on my shoulders… _

_ Is going berserk!  _

 

Eddie released a breathy, almost maniacal little laugh and it echoed out of the amplifiers. He looked so happy that he was nearly deranged. He kept shaking his head between each line, flinging sweat from his hair. The laugh that Richie heard made him laugh, too. He was really enjoying the show, it was endlessly entertaining, and his attraction to the beautiful lead definitely helped. 

 

_ I won’t apologize, _

_ For acting out of line. _

_ You see the way I am? _

_ You should leave anytime you can! _

 

Eddie was an undeniable firecracker. He looked as though he was really enjoying himself, while at the same time seemingly so full of anger and rage. His eyes were craze-filled and Richie found himself almost lost in them. He loved rock music, it was his favorite, but this was something new and different altogether. Another way of life. A different point of view.

 

_ I’m crazy and I’m hurt! _

_ The head on my shoulders… _

_ Is going berserk! _

 

After the last line Eddie began grunting and yelling unintelligibly into the microphone. He seemed to just be organically expressing himself, forcing out moans and hollers. It was extremely erotic and Richie was enthralled, leaning almost completely off of his bar stool to strain his neck so he could see what Eddie was doing. 

The crowd was going almost just as crazy as Eddie was. They were moshing and shoving each other roughly, some people kicking and throwing their bodies around the small venue. Every once in a while a body would make its way up to the stage where The Losers were playing, but instead of disturbing the musicians they would dive back into the crowd head-first. The building had seemingly come alive from the passion and fever that the band created. It was awesome. 

 

_ I’m Crazy! Crazy! Crazy! Crazy! _

_ I don’t care what you fucking do, _

_ I don’t care what you fucking say, _

_ I’m so sick of everything! _

 

And, after all of that, the song ends. The drums die and all that you hear are the heavy pants from Eddie and the cheering of the crowd. Eddie had such a large and intimidating energy, his aura encompassed the whole room. That is why when the band went through their whole set, each song just as aggressive as the last, Eddie surprises Richie again. Their last song comes to a close and the room full of people holler and clap. Eddie walks up to the microphone a final time, wringing his hands together shyly at their adoration.

“Um, thank you guys. Thank you.” Eddie says in an impossibly small voice. He looked exhausted from his performance and he was soaked in his own sweat. His eyeliner was slightly smudged at each of the corners. He had an almost bashful smile painted on his face when he finally bids the crowd goodbye. “We loved playing for you all. Thank you, Portland!”

With that the band begins dismantling their instruments and the crowd waits for the next band to come out on stage. Richie watches on as the bandmates all high five and give each other bear hugs. They all seemed completely drained of energy, exhausted from a night of equal parts work and play. The way the punk show ended was very anticlimactic but Richie supposed that they couldn’t keep that erratic energy up forever.

Just as Richie is about to pay Bill and go light a cigarette after the night that he has had, he sees out of the corner of his eye a small body force himself out of the crowd and fall into the stool beside him. Praying that this was actually who he thought it was, Richie chances a glance to his left. 

You would think that Eddie would be an even larger being close up, but you would be wrong. He was an extremely short man, couldn’t be more than 5’5. He seemed to relax against the bar counter as he continued to breathe heavily from the exertion of the night. 

“What can I get you, you complete lunatic?” Bill asks, a big smile on his face and the question not at all unfriendly. The comment makes Eddie laugh that same sweet laugh as before, and he clears his strained throat.

“Just a cider, please. Something sweet and yummy.” Eddie’s voice was kind and easy going as he flashed Bill an award winning smile. Richie was getting near whiplash from the constant layers of the person before him.

First he saw an extremely serious and stoic stage persona, completed by a completely insane performance. Now Richie got to witness a kind man with the energy of a tired rabbit- who just wanted something sweet and yummy? Just who was he?

“You should close your mouth before you start drooling on the counter.” Eddie says lazily, taking a sip of the cider Bill passed to him without giving Richie a second glance. His voice was playful but his demeanor screamed disinterested. Not that something like that would deter Richie for even a second.

“Can’t help it when I see something good enough to eat.” Richie replies flirtatiously, cringing on the inside as he lets the words escape his mouth. That was his best material? Seriously?

Richie watches as Eddie tries to stifle a smile. He takes another long drink of his cider before he meets Richie’s gaze. There is a mischievous dance in his eyes as he looks over Richie up and down. Once, twice. Richie can’t tell if he likes what he sees.

“Oh yeah, wise guy?” Eddie drawls. “You’re pretty forward.”

“Yeah he is.” Bill agrees before he quickly makes himself busy elsewhere. Richie shoots him a quick glare before he shoots Eddie his best smile. Eddie fires him a smile back, albeit rather sarcastically. 

“So, uh,” Richie clears his throat. “You’re Eddie.” 

“Yup,” He replies. “And who are you?” 

“Richie. Tozier. Richie Tozier.” The plain fact that Richie couldn’t catch up with his words, the literal one thing that he thought he could never fail at, should of made him mortified. But instead, something about Eddie’s disinterest just made him want to try harder to grab the smaller man’s attention. Richie was an entertainer. He just wanted to entertain.

“Nice to meet you, Richie Tozier. How did you like the show?” Eddie had to just be humoring him now, because Richie knew what he looked like. A total misfit within the crowd of misfits. Eddie knew that he wasn’t there for the show. Richie just shot him another wide grin.

“Oh what, I don’t look the part? Maybe I was just here to see some bands play.” 

“I didn’t say that. But no, I didn’t take you for a fan.” Eddie says within a soft laugh. His eyes hold Richie’s now, expecting another snide remark. “Sorry."   


“Well, I’m sorry too, because you’re right. I work here, I’m a comedian. Totally ended up hanging back by accident.” Richie says, but quickly corrects himself. “Not that I didn’t enjoy your set!”

“Aren’t comedians supposed to be funny?” Eddie asks abruptly, mouth quirked to the side in an attempt at snarkiness. Oh,  _ cute. _ Richie feels like putty in Eddie’s hands. Most of the time Richie’s pride was extremely fragile, but he was beginning to realize that this Eddie could say whatever he wanted to Richie and never discourage him. It just made him want to please.

“Yeah, they’re supposed to be.” Richie tries to hold back the force of his smile but he is just too delighted. “You though, on stage. You’re very- you know, uh-... Animated.” Richie finished lamely, taking a sip of his beer to cover his lameness. This makes Eddie laugh fully this time, looking at Richie with what seemed to be endearment. 

“Thank you. I grew up my entire life very… Sheltered, you could say. The moment I escaped and found music I went a little…” Eddie searched for the right word. “Off-kilter.” He grins and it shows Richie all of his teeth.

“I loved it.” Richie says plainly. “I’ve never been to anything like this. I had a lot of fun, Eds.”

Eddie turns his whole body towards him, pushing his empty bottle a little way away from himself on the counter. He looks at Richie up and down again and this time Richie knows that he likes what he sees.

“Don’t call me that, Trashmouth.” Eddie snaps lightly. “Wait, wait, wait. You’ve never been to a show?” Eddie’s tone is laced with disbelief.

“Never. You’re my first.” Richie says with a wink. “Eddie Spaghetti.” Eddie sticks his tongue out at him. He gives Richie another smile then, and it is full on  _ devious.  _

“Well then, get up!” Eddie hops off of his stool and walks over to Richie, grabbing both of his wrists and tugging lightly. “Come on, Trashmouth, lets go.”

“Where are we going?” Richie laughs nervously, trying to mask just how hard his heart is pumping just by Eddie’s simple touch. Now that he was up close Richie could see just how toned his arms were and how full his lips looked. God, this kid was gorgeous.

“The pit.” 

“The  _ pit? _ What the fuck is a pit?”

“There.” Eddie points a small finger towards the crowd. And there, in the middle of the sea of bodies, is what looks like a whirlpool of arms and legs. People were pushing into each other harshly, bumping shoulders and waving arms in an attempt to make contact with another punk rocker. It looked aggressive and just plain violent. 

“ _ There?” _ Richie repeated, a look of uncertainty taking over his face. He thought he could play it cool with this guy, but there was no way. He was crazy. Like, really.

“Oh, what? You scared?” Eddie teases, pulling on his arm again towards the crowd. “I can protect you, if you want.”

“It’s not that! It’s just, um- Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why do it? The pit?”

Eddie looked at him in confusion at first and then comprehension slowly graced his expression.

“It’s a place to go when... you’re angry. When it feels like everyone is against you. When you’re so full of rage and you just need to release it.” Eddie says over the loud music playing. “It has a purpose. You just have to find that rage and use it.”

“To hurt other people?” Richie asks incredulously. Eddie laughs.

“Yes and no. They want to shove you, yeah, but they’ll pick you up when you actually fall. When the whole world is against you, and you just want to fight and scream… These people will help pick you back up when you get knocked down.” Eddie’s excited expression softened just a little. “So, you want to rage with me?” 

Richie looked in between Eddie and the crowd several times before swallowing a large gulp. He had pent up scorn, he supposed. Buried deep down. He used denial and optimism as constant bandaid, as much as he could manage. When he failed at nailing a comedic audition, he forced the disappointment away. When his jokes didn’t land for most of his night doing his routine, he pushed the anger down. It felt as though he had a huge rock sitting in the bottom of his belly all of the time. His throat felt incredibly dry as he spoke. 

“Let’s rage.” 

Eddie grinned a toothy grin and pulled him into the gaggle of people quickly, weaving in and around people with ease. Richie, who was much larger, had a little bit harder of a time, but followed behind him as best he could. When they came face to face with the opening in the crowd where people were moshing, Eddie simply squeezed Richie’s hand before letting go and flinging his small body into the mix.

Richie watched as Eddie got knocked around violently, a flurry of hands and feet punching and kicking at every turn. Eddie got in a few good pushes, knocking bodies into each other as they ricocheted and dominoed into the next person. After a few moments, and a quick internal deliberation, Richie clenched his teeth and stepped into the pit.

He was left alone at first, no one touching him and the source of the violence on the other side of the circle. It didn’t take long, however, for the crowd behind him to hit him like a brick wall. He went stumbling forward and couldn’t help but think  _ how the hell did I get into this situation?  _

Richie’s large body fell onto someone in front of him, a guy repping a large green mohawk, and he violently got shoved off. He almost lost his footing before he trudged forward, bumping the same man and pushing him into two large women who weren’t looking to fuck around. 

Richie laughed joyously, this being the first opportunity in his life to be aggressive and not be yelled at for it. It felt freeing, in a weird and childish way. He ran forward quickly, smashing himself into a small woman who held her ground firmly, and it knocked him backwards again. And that’s what he did for a few minutes, letting one or two songs from the current band play. He got an elbow to the face at one point, which fucking hurt, but he couldn’t be mad. He’s sure he got a few good swings in too. 

He did get tired pretty quickly, though, and Eddie somehow noticed. Feeling a hand grab his shirt, he blindly let himself be lead out of the pit and away from the crowd. Richie leans against the cold brick wall just outside of the sea of people. Eddie stands just in front of him, covered in sweat once again and just watching Richie gleefully glance around the venue. He was catching his breath but  couldn’t help but laugh in between his panting. 

“That was fucking INSANE!” Richie yelled, his voice barely heard over the power of the amplifiers on stage. Eddie must have read his lips, though, because he just laughed and nodded quickly. 

“I knew you would have fun! It’s nice to be allowed to kick some ass, right?” Eddie leaned forward in order to talk to him, his lips tickling Richie’s ear as the smaller man leaned up to speak. When Eddie stood back and just looked at him, Richie couldn’t help the fluttering in his chest or the adrenaline bursting in his veins.

“I’ve never done anything like this in my life. It felt… It felt so fucking good!” Richie yells back at him.

“I’m glad you felt what I was trying to tell you!” Eddie says almost sweetly despite him having to scream over the sound. His curly hair was flattened because of physical activity and his big brown eyes were kind and captivating. “We’ll make a punk rocker out of you yet.”

Richie feels his face grow warm and his stomach flip. He feels incredible, like he can take on the world, and he really hopes that he isn’t reading this entire experience all wrong because he can’t help but ask.

“Can I kiss you?” His voice is drowned out by the music, but Eddie’s eyes were already on his lips. He could tell what he was saying. 

Without uttering a word, Eddie just leaps up and throws his hands around Richie’s neck. They are both intensely sweaty and being this close to another person is almost claustrophobic because of the heat. Richie couldn’t bring himself to care though and he dips his head to deepen the kiss. 

They share a few dry kisses before Richie opens his mouth, coaxing Eddie to do the same. They softly brush tongues and the wet heat that exudes out of Eddie’s mouth makes Richie shiver. He brings both of his hands to rest sweetly on Eddie’s hips, bringing his groin so close to Eddie’s that they almost brush. Richie can’t hear Eddie’s soft moan but he feels a small vibration on his lips.

They break away for a moment, making brief eye contact. It’s only when Eddie flashes Richie that signature toothy grin that he dives back in and shoves his tongue smoothly into Eddie’s mouth. Their kissing gets heated, deepening until Eddie has shoved Richie back into the brick forcefully. It hurts immediately and Richie knows that he is going to have bruises. 

Eddie’s hands find their way into Richie’s hair and they tug harshly, eliciting a moan out of Richie’s mouth. Eddie quirks a smile into their kiss and he tugs again. Richie is feeling sore all over all of a sudden and the overstimulation of Eddie’s kissing and the sharp brick in his back makes his dick harden slowly. He feels his length grow firm in his pants and Eddie immediately notices from being flush against Richie’s front. 

“Excited, Rich?” Eddie says, letting one of his hands fall from Richie’s hair and palm him firmly through his pants. “You like a little bit of pain?” Richie smiles at Eddie, completely enamored, and nods with vigor. 

“And you like to grant it, yeah? Looks like we’re a match made in heaven.” Richie almost growls, resting his forehead on Eddie’s and gripping his ass. 

“Let’s go.”

“Whereto this time, Eddie Spaghetti?”  _  If I’d go into that pit with you I’d follow you anywhere, _ Richie thinks.

 

“My place.”

**Author's Note:**

> I was thinking about making a second chapter and making it smutty as FUCK. BDSM would be a heavy factor. Would ya'll be interested in that? Let me know!
> 
> Come hang w me on tumblr! @reddieloserz  
> I'm currently taking prompt requests!


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